Traditional Methods of Lobby Design
Traditionally, there are three methods by which a lobby design is chosen. The method of selection is usually determined by the quality of the building: Rated from A down to C as illustrated below:
“A”“B”“C” orBuildingBuildingLesser1)Repair and refinish an existing40%75%Installation (existing buildingsonly)2)“Make it look like that building”40%25%(existing or new buildings)3)Hire an architect to create a100%20%new design (existing or newbuildings)
The first method of repairing and refinishing an existing installation is usually the lowest cost because most of the existing material is retained and little or no engineering and/or structural modifications are required. An architect or designer may be used to supply specifications and provide oversight of the project, but by definition there is little or no change in either the design or material. The major disadvantage of this method is that an existing design that is carried forward may contain many flaws, such as the design being in conflict with the other major public spaces in the building, the exterior or neighborhood, being dated or otherwise unattractive to a wide range of existing or potential tenants, or being expensive to maintain. Although this method may represent the simplest, fastest and least expensive method of updating a building's appearance, it often adds the least amount of value to the property and does the least to retain and attract tenants.
The primary advantage of the second method, to replicate an existing design, is that the design and cost will be fairly well known before the contract is put out to bid. This method is frequently used by property owners or managers who have purchased existing buildings or plan to construct new ones and who wish to maximize brand equity by using common design elements across their portfolio of properties. Even though an architect or designer is used to create the drawings and specifications, there are many opportunities for the buyer to get poor value for the money spent. For instance, if the original to be copied is poorly designed, the copy will be no better and may be quite expensive. Secondly, differences in the underlying space, such as dimensions and structural capacities may add additional cost to a project without enhancing the space. Finally, copying a design from one property to another may sometimes be inappropriate to the existing design elements of the building and its environs.
The third method, creating a custom design, may be the most effective way of enhancing the attractiveness of a building. As with the second method, an architect or designer is used to create the drawings and specifications. However, in this case, the architect or designer has greater flexibility in choosing both the design elements and materials for the space. This flexibility allows the designer the best chance of choosing an attractive design that is most suitable to the rest of the building and its environs. This attractive design is also useful in retaining and attracting new tenants.
There are serious drawbacks to using a custom designed lobby. For instance, the process can be very time consuming. At the outset, the owner and the designer may have completely different aesthetic and design visions for the project, a situation that is less likely to occur in the first and second methods discussed above. Without extensive, painstaking coordination, the designer's proposal may have design elements unacceptable to the project owner. Another problem is that although the designer is given a budget, there is no way to measure if the design is within the budget until most of the drawings and specifications are created and submitted to the suppliers for bids. The bids frequently come back above the budget and one or more modifications of the design and specifications may be necessary to get the project within the budget. Even if the project is within the budget, a large part of that budget may be consumed by engineering and procurement costs, rather than the purchase and delivery of the actual product. Additional time is needed with custom designs because of the necessity for suppliers to produce custom drawings and samples for approval and for custom materials to the jobsite.